Developing a multilingual platform for language learning using the new technologies

Over the past decades, the use of New Technologies (ΝΤ) has become an important aspect of language learning. Βy exploiting ΝΤ potentials, a rich, vibrant environment for language learning can be created, which transcends the limitations of the traditional classroom and has led to the redefinition of the strategies and concepts of teaching and learning. Language, culture, information and communication can now be οnly a mouse click away.The present paper aims at presenting how the potentials of the ΝΤ have been exploited within the framework of the European project ΜΥΤΗΕ (Mιιltimedia Υoung-children Thesaurus for Educational Purposes), for teaching three European languages (Greek, English and Dutch) to children aged 6-8.The innovative features of this project can be summarised as follows:1. The educational content of the platform has been based on a modern fable (myth) written by Eugene Trivizas (famous Greek author of children stories), dispersed with pan-human values (democracy, science and technology, health and hygiene, cιιlture, environment).2. Α common language material has been developed for the teaching and learning of the three languages as both mother tongue and second language, thus offering an inter-European language teaching platform to be used by children in the three countries involved.3. Cutting edge language technology tools have been integrated for supporting the production of both oral and written language.The presentation will touch upon the overall structure of ΜΥΤΗΕ and its components and will primarily focus om the design of the language material regarding the Greek-English language pair

Corpus-based vocabulary lists for language learners for nine languages

We present the KELLY project and its work on developing monolingual and bilingual word lists for language learning, using corpus methods, for nine languages and thirty-six language pairs. We describe the method and discuss the many challenges encountered. We have loaded the data into an online database to make it accessible for anyone to explore and we present our own first explorations of it. The focus of the paper is thus twofold, covering pedagogical and methodological aspects of the lists’ construction, and linguistic aspects of the by-product of the project, the KELLY database. © The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.co